FAR & WIDE: World Cup, United States, Argentina, Chile, Brazil

WITH all the discussion about where World Cup games will be, there has been precious little by way of explanation for how the draw will actually work.
The venues and dates were announced last Thursday and the big controversy was that Sydney only got two games because the NSW government refused to bid.
But a quick look at the draw poster, which can be downloaded from the tournament’s website, poses more questions than it answers.
England and Australia are in the same group and a literal reading of the draw would see them meeting in the quarter-finals which, of course, would be outrageous.
In fact, as was the case in 2013, the draw is seeded in such a way as to maximise competitive pool games – with more teams from the strong pools progressing than those from the weaker divisions.
With the pools being A, B. C and D, the quarter-finals will work like this: A1 v B3, B2 v D1, B1 v A3, A2v C1.
Three teams from pools A and B progress, with only one each from C and D. That means the match between Lebanon and France will be very important while Scotland will have to – realistically – beat Tonga or Samoa.
.THE word ‘Journeyman’ is misused in rugby league.
It does not mean someone who moves around a lot. In fact, it is tradesman who never becomes proficient in his craft.
The origins of this are from when a master tradesman would set up a shop but those who were not quite so good would have to travel around for work.
A ‘journeyman’ in sport can actually spend his whole career at one club. It just means he never attained the status of being a master of his trade.
Junior VaiVai is a journeyman in the misused, rugby league cliché sense. He has played for Samoa but may play against them for NSW Country on a tour of Samoa at the end of this year.
But he has also been recently selected for the US Hawks, which means he is in line to play for the Americans in the World Cup!
Junior is currently with Wollongong Wests.
.RUGBY league’s America’s Cup has kicked off, with Canada beating Jamaica 38-2 in Levittown, Pennsyvania. The tournament continues.
.OUR friends at the Latin Heat report that The three-way tournament between Argentina, Chile and Brazil on November 12-13 in Miramar, Argentina looks more like reality each day.
Visit the Latin Heat website or social media accounts if you want to see what you can do to make it happen!